The Broken Prince's Love

There were few situations Lucille could think about that were worse than this. Nothing extraordinary had happened, but still, this meal was one of the most horrible ones she had ever lived through. She should have expected that from the very beginning, but it was even more tense than she had imagined it to be.

Lucille was used to having quiet meals with her father, but that Cedar was sitting here next to her made everything seem much worse. Maybe because he didn't appear to be troubled by the silence at all.

Cedar just calmly ate with a soft smile on his face. He didn't make a single mistake and looked as graceful as one would have expected it of a member of the royal family. If there was someone with such elegance cutting the steak next to you, it put some pressure on you.

Especially since Lucille was sure that she had failed to cut off the stupid bone four times in a row. She considered giving up on the flesh to hide how disappointing her table manners were, only to have Cedar take her utensils away.

The prince cut off the bone for her and gave her a small piece of his steak in exchange for taking the bony part. Then he focused on his plate as if nothing had happened. Even while doing that, he had seemed elegant so that no one would question what him suddenly reaching over to another's plate actually meant.

Lucille was only left to stare at him. To be honest, she was flustered, even though she knew that Cedar didn't do this because he liked her. She was well aware that he just did this to underline her father's misunderstanding. Still, she couldn't help blushing and quickly hid it. When servants helped her, she didn't feel this embarrassed.

Raymond's gaze didn't make that better.

The viscount had been in a bad mood from the very beginning. After the prince had asked to sit next to Lucille, it had gotten even worse. And now that Cedar had helped Lucille too, Raymond looked like he was ready to poison the prince's drink. Of course, he didn't show it openly like he would if he was alone with Lucille, but he still couldn't hide all of his anger and resignation. Maybe he was really worried about his daughter for once.

Lucille couldn't bring herself to care about that. She trusted Cedar, so she wasn't scared. Right now, this tense atmosphere was much worse. So, she cast her gaze downward and ate another piece of the steak, which she had now defeated thanks to the prince's help.

In the meantime, Raymond just kept glaring at Cedar, who happily ate his meal. It seemed like both men wouldn't say anything, which would render the whole meal absolutely unbearable.

Lucille stayed silent for a few more seconds and tried to force herself to relax until she couldn't take it anymore. She would have to say something, or the atmosphere would continue to weigh her down. Right now, the prince was here too, so she shouldn't get in trouble even if she spoke. Lucille knew that, and still, she was uncertain while beginning. “Uhm... Is it really fine for us to eat in the main building? What if the servants recognize him?”

Her father kept staring at the prince while replying in a cool voice. “The servants never once attended a royal event. They would not even recognize His and Her Majesty unless they saw a portrait recently. The only one who knows is Mathilda, and I already instructed her to stay quiet. There is no need to worry about this as long as His Royal Highness doesn't introduce himself with his full name. The servants only know that a random young man suddenly appeared here and moved into the annex.” Which was bad enough. It was obvious what kind of rumor the servants would spread.

But Cedar seemed as calm as always about this. “I do not have the intention of introducing myself formally anyway. Even I am self-conscious enough to realize that telling people about who I am may be troublesome when my brother is searching for me. I will not do anything that draws attention to me nor will I cause difficulties otherwise. You do not need to worry, Lord Valerian.”

Raymond stopped in the middle of bringing a piece of tomato to his mouth. He put his fork down and gazed at the prince with obvious dismay. “With all due respect, Your Royal Highness, I feel like this may be inappropriate to say. After all, your presence will cause issues whether you want to prevent it or not. I do not wish to remind you of this, but if Lord Astame investigates again and finds you here, we will be accused of treason. Aside from that huge problem, I just learned that my daughter seems to be closer to you than the protocol would allow it today.” That wasn't even false.

Lucille had to admit that she and Cedar had done some things that would be condemned by conservative nobles. Two unmarried people of differing genders being alone together in a room, especially if it was a bedroom, seemed inappropriate to many elderly aristocrats. And theoretically, Lucille and Cedar had even done that in secret without their parents watching, which made it worse. The fact that the two of them had hugged would also raise a few questions for others.

Thinking about that was enough to make Lucille blush. She quickly lowered her head and stared at her plate. But she had already seen how her father's face scrunched up from the corner of her eyes. Of course, he had noticed how she reacted.

Cedar next to her stopped eating and put down his utensils for a moment. He gave the other man a little smile and spoke up. “I understand that you are concerned about all of this. But I can assure you that being discovered would cause as many problems for me as it would for you. So, I will not be careless and let others recognize me. I'm good at lying, so I will get out of it in an emergency. Regarding Lucille, I can calm you too. We met each other at events often, but we only really got to know each other two weeks ago. We are responsible people, so there is no way that we would cross any dangerous boundaries. You can rest assured that you've already seen the closest we ever got.” How could he say that without being embarrassed?

Lucille almost choked on her food and had to pause to get air into her lungs again. The fact that Cedar gently patted her back to help her didn't make this better either. Of course, it was good that her father didn't believe that she had gambled all chances of marriage away by sharing her bed with a person she had known for two weeks. But saying it this openly felt strange.

The worst part had to be that Raymond looked like he didn't even believe them. He pierced the couple, especially the prince, with his eyes as if he was seriously considering throwing Cedar out. That only made the meal even more uncomfortable.

Lucille shifted around on her seat and gulped down a bit of her water to distract herself. It didn't help much. Once again, she wondered how Cedar could deal with all of this as if nothing had happened.

The prince calmly ate and gave her a smile when she looked at him. Then he focused on his meal again. For a few seconds, he was silent before drinking a bit from his glass. Afterward, he spoke up. “I have to say that the food is delicious. Your chef seems to be very reliable. You simply must compliment them. This is one of the best dishes I have eaten in a long time.”

Normally, hosts would react kindly when guests said something like this, but that wasn't the case right now. Viscount Valerian glared at the other man and gritted his teeth. “Thank you, Your Royal Highness. I will inform them of this. But I have to say that I doubt that our modest meal could be to your liking. Certainly, the royal chefs are much more skillful, are they not?”

Cedar didn't let the underlying hostility bother him. “Of course, you aren't wrong. But I wouldn't say that your chefs are less skillful. The royal chefs are extremely good, but most of them have simply grown up in families of cooks who served the royal family. They have their own secret tricks and recipes, and most children have already cooked since their childhood. Comparing them to others is a bit unfair. And it has been a while since I ate in the palace, so I wouldn't be able to tell you whether something is different. I doubt that Theodore changed the cooks, but you never know.”

Raymond narrowed his eyes at the other man, even though nothing bad had happened. It almost seemed like some kind of insulting comment might come soon, but he probably wouldn't dare to say something like that. Right? After all, Viscount Valerian was always careful not to offend anyone. He would be extremely careful not to insult a prince, right?

Lucille had to admit that she wasn't so sure when she looked at her father. She paused her eating and forced herself to swallow quickly to speak up. Unfortunately, she had made a little mistake and was now choking on her food. She cursed herself, but she couldn't stop coughing.

Cedar reached over to her and patted her back again. This time, he used slightly more force, which helped her to get the piece of mushroom out of her throat. He picked up her glass and held it toward her with a blinding smile. “Here. Drink a bit to make it better.” Acting like they were a couple to protect her had been fine as long as they just hadn't cleared up the misunderstanding, but wasn't he overdoing it now?

Lucille would really have to do something about this later. She nodded weakly and took the glass to drink. When she set it down again, she glanced at her father and almost froze.

Raymond was angry. Very much so.

Lucille hadn't done anything bad this time, had she? Why was he so upset now? Thankfully, she wasn't alone here, or she might have considered excusing herself.

Cedar still didn't care much about the other man's anger. In fact, it only seemed like he was becoming more and more confident with every second. He paused to meet Viscount Valerian's gaze and gave him a smile before speaking up. “It seems to me that you are discontent with something, Lord Valerian. I would ask you to be honest in that regard so that we can address your worries. Of course, I cannot do much about the dangers of me being here at the moment, but I believe that I could ease a few of your concerns if you tell me about them.”

Raymond set down his utensils with a clink. As always, he kept his expression cold, but the glint in his eyes made it obvious that he was fuming. “I don't know where to start. Aside from the fact that your circumstances are quite problematic due to your relationship with His Majesty, which could cause serious problems for us, I doubt your intentions. My daughter is only eighteen. You are roughly four years older, which normally isn't a big problem, but at your age, this difference could be critical. Lucille doesn't have any experience with relationships, and suddenly, you show up, move in and make her hide your presence. Obviously, I would be concerned. You do not have the intention to marry her, so this is just a temporary way to pass the time for you. I don't know whether you ever thought about her future, but this may cause serious issues for her marriage prospects. It doesn't matter much to you, but if-”

Cedar raised his hands, which promptly caused the other man to stop speaking. He smiled for a moment before replying in a calm voice. “You seem awfully sure about me being careless. I grew up in the center of noble society. I witnessed enough scandals and heard how young women were condemned for wishing to fall in love. Do you really believe that I wouldn't think about Lucille's situation? It's true that I can't do much about the state of our society, but I can make sure that this doesn't affect her negatively. We are keeping it a secret, and of course, she is free to make her own decisions. I am not pressuring her in any way, and since I know that we are young, I always insisted on taking our time. We still have a while until we make the final decision. But if any rumors were to spread, I would take responsibility.”

That prince was definitely too good at lying. He looked so sincere, even though none of the things he had said were true. Especially not the last part. Taking responsibility regarding rumors that could harm a woman's chances for marriage would mean marrying her himself, which he clearly wouldn't do.

Lucille was well aware that this was only said to underline their act. And it certainly made it seem like Cedar cared about her, which had been the whole goal of this pretense. But wasn't he overdoing it? What if Raymond just saw this as a formal promise of marriage? There was no way that a power-hungry person like her father would give up on this idea afterward.

Lucille pressed her mouth into a thin line. Should she intervene now? But wouldn't that make it too obvious that none of this was real? She wasn't sure whether she wanted to put her protection above everything else. Convincing her father of the fact that she could marry into royalty was actually a horrible idea, so they should probably stop here. She opened her mouth to interrupt, but she didn't get a chance to speak.

Raymond was already in the middle of replying. “Surely, Your Royal Highness must be jesting.” He basically murdered the other man with his gaze. “How would I believe something like this? You, me and Lucille are aware of your difference in status. How could we assume that you would ever marry the daughter of a viscount? Even if you aren't in the palace, you are still the second prince.”

Cedar waited a bit before responding but was still as composed and self-confident as before, even if he was being glared at. “Is that your biggest concern? My brother just married a commoner and made her empress. I think our family shouldn't have any problems with ranks anymore, and no one else will bat an eye either. And as long as you have the emperor's permission, the others' opinion doesn't matter. My brother doesn't really like me, but he doesn't hate me either. The one he despises is my mother. If I ask nicely about him blessing my marriage, he would probably agree. If not, I can just do what he did. After announcing it openly and signing a contract, no one can do anything against it anymore.” That plan sounded way too elaborate. Anyone who didn't know about the background would really believe that Cedar wanted to marry Lucille.

So, it wasn't surprising that her father's mood got even worse. “Is that what Your Royal Highness came up with?” Viscount Valerian glared at the other man and grasped his utensils tighter. “And what exactly would this marriage mean to you? Do you think it would be good for Lucille to move into confinement with you? As if that wasn't enough, being with you will make her a target for countless dangerous people. What makes you believe that I would agree to this?”

Cedar turned his head to Lucille and gave her a little smile. “I know that you won't agree. You don't trust me, and that is understandable. But I promise that I will work hard to gain your trust. I cannot tell you everything about my future plans, but I can guarantee you that I do not have any intention to return to confinement. My brother actually offered to let me out at some point, and I will approach him about that when the situation calmed down a bit. I just need a few more weeks, and then my circumstances will be much more pleasant. But even then...” For a moment, Cedar became serious, and his smile faded away as he made eye contact with the viscount, which proved that he was fully acting now. “I know that being with me will put anyone in some kind of danger. I can't do anything about that for now, but I am trying my best to deal with the situation. This will take a while, but I won't let anyone hurt those around me right now either. That is why I can swear that I will protect your daughter from any harm.”

Lucille almost choked on the air in her lungs. How could Cedar lie so confidently? He sounded like he was absolutely honest, and that made even her question what was going on. For a little moment, she almost believed him before remembering what they were doing here. But still, she was rendered speechless, and her father seemed to be the same.

Maybe acting like a couple hadn't been a good idea when she obviously couldn't stop herself from misunderstanding it every few seconds. Even now, she was already blushing, and that only worsened the mood. She could see how her father was fuming and inwardly apologized, but she only lowered her gaze.

The rest of the dinner would be horrible.

Her assumption was proven to be true. The rest of the meal made Lucille feel like she was being watched by a group of people the whole time. In reality, only her father stared at her and Cedar while the prince happily ate. When they finished, the mood was still as grim as before.

But at least Lucille could retreat now. She breathed out in relief as soon as she and the prince left the dining room.

Cedar noticed that as soon as the door closed behind him. He turned to her and spoke up in a gentle voice. “I'm sorry. That was a bit much. But I needed to make sure that he doesn't doubt our story. I hope that I didn't make you uncomfortable. If so, I apologize. It wasn't my intention.” His smile was so radiant that it made her heart skip a beat. This man was so stunning that it was unfair.

Lucille could barely look at him without thinking about how angelic he looked. He wasn't nearly as innocent as his face made him seem, was he? By the gods, she shouldn't think about that. “It's fine. I was a bit surprised, but I know why you did that. It should be fine as long as we don't do this too often. My father will definitely not be happy if you keep saying things like this. After all, we will have to reveal the truth at some point. What will we do when we tell him about this being fake? Won't he be really upset?” She hadn't meant to sound so concerned, but she couldn't help herself.

But Cedar just gave her a bright smile, and her worries seemed to fade away. “Let that be my concern. I promise that I will take care of any issues that may arise. If I'm good at one thing, it's talking. Your father won't utter a single complaint.”

She knew that this was unlikely. After all, Raymond was a man with an explosive temper. But just hearing Cedar say that it would be alright made her feel much safer. Somehow, that promise calmed her down.

Still, the next few days were stressful.

Lucille just waited for her father to call her to his office so that he could yell at her in private, but that never happened. Instead, Raymond just demonstratively showed up at the annex once a day to confirm whether Cedar had done anything problematic. That visit always ended with him asking Lucille whether she was fine. She still didn't know what to think about that, but she just affirmed it each day.

About a week passed, and only one thing really changed. Cedar could now walk around the estate without being confined to the annex. He mostly used that right to train. Despite Lucille's warnings, he only spent more and more time practicing each day.

Lucille often sat next to him while he did that. She was already in pain just from looking at him and wondering whether his injuries might hurt. She had to admit that she sometimes also thought that he was a pretty sight, but she wasn't as enamored as some of the maids, who seemed to adore watching the unknown man train.

Few dared to talk to Cedar, but many stared at him, which was understandable due to his captivating presence. Lucille would have been rather shy if that many people watched her, but the prince didn't seem to care much. Maybe that was normal since he had grown up to be the center of attention. Still, she couldn't but be impressed.

Lucille kept quiet about that for most of the time, but at some point, she accidentally said it. As she walked back to Cedar's room with him, she hadn't been able to hold back. “You are really admirable, you know?”

Cedar glanced at her, and for a moment, it almost seemed like he let out a chuckle, but he hadn't been loud enough for her to hear him. “What are you talking about? I don't think that anyone ever called me that. It was more of the opposite.”

Lucille was more than just a bit embarrassed about saying this out loud, but it was too late now. She averted her eyes and replied in a small voice. “Well, you seem like you don't care about others' opinions at all. When people are watching you, you don't cower under their gazes and just smile at them. You don't seem to worry about what they think at all. And you're great at sword-fighting. It's easy to see that you love training, and you don't let anything stop you. I'm a little worried about your injury, but I like seeing how focused you seem while you practice. Of course, you're also a kind and considerate person. After all, you are helping me so that my father can't get too upset.”

The prince was quiet for a bit as he opened the door to his room. Then he turned to her. “That's how it seems to you? You're awfully naive, you know? It's good that I don't have any ill intentions. You would have been completely defenseless.” He might have tried to do it in a subtle way, but his response made it obvious that he didn't like being praised. Still, he addressed what she had mentioned before. “Not caring about other people and what they think isn't necessarily good. It's just that I'm used to having everyone look at me since I'm a part of the royal family. And there always were many rumors about me, so it would be odd for me not to have people whisper behind my back. The fact that they are talking just means-” He cut himself off, and his smile faded. He lifted his hand and held it in front of her so that she couldn't walk any farther.

Lucille froze and looked at him with a questioning gaze. But he didn't meet her gaze and just stared at the balcony. She followed his eyes and immediately saw what had scared Cedar.

There was a dark figure on the balcony. It looked like it was a man with pitch-black clothes and just as black hair. This person definitely wasn't a servant.

In an instant, Lucille was overcome with panic.

The fact that Cedar had put his other hand onto the handle of his sword didn't make that much better. He didn't move as he raised his voice enough so that the person outside had to hear. “It seems like we have an unwelcome guest. Reeve, what are you doing here?”

For a moment, it was quiet.

Then the man outside put his hand onto the door handle and slowly swung the glass door open. He took a single step forward and then raised his hands to show that he wasn't armed before dropping them again. “Hello...” He showed them a conflicted expression as he stood in the doorway. Then he stared at the couple for a moment before speaking up again. “It looks like I finally have the chance to meet the special lady. It's nice to meet you. My name is Reeve, and I serve as His Royal Highness' guard...even though he is much stronger than I am. Uhm... I didn't mean to intrude, but it was important.”

Lucille was even more uncertain now. That man said that he was Cedar's guard. If that was true, then she should be able to trust him.

But the prince acted like he didn't trust this at all. He continued to stand in front of her, and he didn't let go of his sword either.

All of them were silent for an unpleasant amount of time before Lucille replied with a small stutter. “I'm...Lucille Valerian. It is a pleasure to meet you. What leads you here?” Without permission from her father or from the prince.

Reeve didn't respond immediately, so Cedar spoke up instead. “The fact that you aren't hiding your presence means that my mother found out. You already guessed that being subtle won't do much when she starts to attack in a short while. What did she say?”

Reeve leaned against the doorway and was silent for another moment before he admitted the truth. “About what I told you last time...it might be worse than we thought. She didn't take it well. Even though she knew. So, you might be in big trouble.”

What did that mean?